At Villa Vittoria, at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Florence, was held the award ceremony of the GIST ACTA prize, the Archeological & Cultural Tourism Award, which saw the presence of Eugenio Giani, president of the Tuscany Region and great supporter of regional tourism, and Leonardo Marras, regional councillor with responsibility for the economy and tourism.
Winners of the GIST ACTA 2025 prize
The award, created by Clara Svanera, a tourism and culture journalist and partner at Gist, and sponsored by Toscana Promozione turistica, aims to promote the exploitation and communication of cultural assets from all over the world.
Now in its third edition it is dedicated to the promotion of archaeological and cultural tourism, and this year it was hosted again by tourismA in the Green Room of Villa Vittoria, at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Florence. Tuscany, land of beauty.
«The promotion of archaeological tourism is functional to the prerogatives of GIST on the level of dissemination and reporting of a cultural tourism dedicated to archaeological heritage. This is why in 2023 was established this new prestigious award, dedicated to cultural tourism and its international excellence – stressed the president of Gist Sabrina Talarico – after 4 important GIST awards, dedicated to communication, to enogastronomy, sustainability and travel literature, it was our duty to take care of the Italian and international cultural heritage, which has become, and will increasingly be, a source of tourist attraction and a strong element of territorial promotion».
The support of Toscana Promozione turistica, for the third consecutive year, testifies the foresight of the initiative: «For Tuscany the combination of culture and tourism is the distinctive feature of our destination, always recognized as a land of beauty – said the director of Toscana Promozione Turistica, Francesco Tapinassi – The agency is committed to finding new solutions so that our artistic heritage becomes more known by involving the entire supply chain of regional tourism.
It is a great opportunity for us to support the award in line with the fruitful collaboration with Gist, reinforced this year by the creation of the yearbook of travel journalists dedicated to the UNESCO heritage of Tuscany. I am convinced that through the exploitation of cultural and archaeological heritage we can promote quality tourism, conscious and sustainable».
Cultural and archaeological heritage at the centre of the GIST ACTA 2025 prize
«The idea of introducing a prize that pays attention to the cultural and archaeological heritage of Italy and the world was born from the need to emphasize the daily work that different categories of professionals dedicate to its valorization – reinforced Clara Svanera – Cultural tourism is aimed at an attentive, demanding and above all conscious traveller who wants to experience the territory, ranging from urban architecture to museums and galleries, from historic centres to archaeological sites, from libraries to temples of music and dance, from the places of design to those of artistic craftsmanship.
The challenge of cultural tourism is to offer all this beauty, making it available to the traveler; that of us travel journalists to communicate it, transmitting our gaze full of charm to readers and listeners».
Award-winning GIST ACTA 2025
ACTA awards 4 categories:
News and information service;
museum,
archaeological site,
UNESCO site.
In addition, a special prize is awarded to the best disseminator for the dissemination of Italian and/or international cultural heritage.
Since last year there has been a second special prize dedicated to the best disseminator of “knowledge” classified as intangible heritage of humanity or hoped to become it: “Women and knowledge”.
«Intangible cultural heritage is fundamental to the preservation of cultural diversity and its understanding helps intercultural dialogue and encourages mutual respect for different ways of living – concluded Clara Svanera – Its importance lies in the wealth of knowledge and skills that are passed on from one generation to another. More than 600 entities from 140 countries have been awarded the Intangible Cultural Heritage status. Many are Italian and mostly interpreted by women and/ or dedicated to women and many more deserve to be supported in a possible application process. And we felt it was our duty to give them special recognition».
The candidate projects were evaluated by the jury of the Prize, composed of a team of journalists experts in culture, art and archaeology of the GIST. It includes, in addition to the president , Tullio Bernabei, Ada Mascheroni, Enrico Netti, Silvana Rizzi, Manuela Stefani and Micaela Zucconi.
Best Museum: national archaeological museum of Reggio Calabria
The archaeological museum of Reggio Calabria is a cradle of history, a bridge between cultures, but also a laboratory of ideas. The temporary exhibitions not only enrich the permanent collection, but also provide an opportunity to explore current and globally relevant themes, stimulating dialogue between different disciplinary areas.
The MArRC actively engages the local community through events, workshops and educational activities, with the aim of making archaeology accessible to all. The direction of Fabrizio Sudano has brought a dynamic and innovative vision, with the aim of transforming the Museum into a place of reflection and experimentation, where the archaeological heritage is not only to be observed, but to be lived and shared. Daniela Costanzo, archaeologist of the museum, received the prize.
Photocredit: Clara Vannucci – Massimo Terracina